No Surprises on Day 1 of AA Island Basketball Championships

February 25, 2016, Victoria, BC (ISN) – There would be no upsets in order on Thursday, as all four of the top seeded teams – Lambrick Park, St. Michael’s, Brentwood College and Shawnigan Lake – won their opening games to advance to the semi-finals of the 2016 Vancouver Island AA Senior Boys Basketball Championships being hosted at St. Michael’s University School in Victoria.

Things did not start well for the Blue Jags though, as the Kondors came out with the upset in mind and built an early 7-3 lead before the home squad put things back on track, closing out the quarter up 17-11.

The Kondors would battle hard and thanks to a 10-point effort in the second quarter from Conner Haywood, close the gap to 26-24 with just over four minutes to play in the half, but some key baskets by the Jags in those last four minutes would put SMUS up 36-28 at the break.

Shawnigan Lake got off to a 17-5 start and went from there, leading 29-15 after one and 46-20 at the half, using a 16-point performance from Mostyn Findlay and 12 from Litha Ncanisa to build the 26-point lead.

The Stags Litha Ncanisa (12) would score 12 first-half points to propel Shawnigan Lake to the early lead over PCS (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

The Stags increased their lead to 75-31 after three and coasted from there, closing things out with a 15-point fourth to make the final 90-41.

For the Stags, Sheldon Crisp led the way with 27 points, including 14 in the third quarter, while Ncanisa finished with 23 and Findlay with 19.

Some deadly shooting by the Stags Mostyn Findlay (11) would lead Shawnigan to a 29 point first quarter and the big win over PCS (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

Leading the way for the Pacers was Albert Zhu who finished with nine points, while David Liira chipped in seven in the losing effort.

In Game 3 Thursday the #1 South seeded Lambrick Park Lions also had an easy time of it, routing the Highland Raiders, the #4 seed in the North, 92-35.

Lambrick’s Austin Somers (8) goes up for two of his 10 points, all scored in the first quarter, in the rout over Highland (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

The Lions started slowly on offense, but building on some stingy defense, built a 22-0 lead before Highland finally hit their first basket with three minutes remaining in the quarter and then went into the first break up 31-2.

Lambrick’s Cole Tudway-Cains (11) would have 15 points to lead all scorers in the game against Highland (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

The Lions would rest their starters for the entire second quarter, but still increase their lead to 55-15 at the half, thanks in part to a trio of three-pointers from Spencer Kearley and an eight-point quarter from Cole Tudway-Cains.

After an uneventful third quarter that finished 68-29 Lambrick, the Lions would put up 24 more points in the fourth to coast to the 57 point win.

For Lambrick, on a night in which all 11 players contributed on the scoresheet, Tudway-Cains, with 15 points and Zeke Holt with 14, would have solid games off the bench to lead all Lion scorers. Martin Eckard and Austin Somers also hit double figures with 10 points each.

For Highland, Austin Long would lead the way with 11 points in the losing effort.

Lambrick’s Dawson Neal (12) grimaces as he goes up for a shot against Highland’s John Murray (15) (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

Brentwood 71 Parkland 57

In what surprisingly was the closest game of the evening, the North’s #2 seed Brentwood College came back from an early deficit to defeat the Parkland Panthers, the #3 seed in the South, 71-57.

The Panthers surprised many by jumping out to an early 13-6 lead and closing out the quarter up 17-15 on a cold shooting Brentwood squad.

Brentwood would begin to turn it on in the second however, tying the game 17-17 early in the frame and then building a 30-24 lead with just under five minutes to play in the half before heading to the break up 35-33.

Brentwood’s resurgence was led by big man Ferdinand Schultz, who was unstoppable down low, dominating the paint and scoring 21 first-half points. On the other side of the ball, Parkland’s Dylan Reid, with 14 first-half points, kept the Panthers within striking distance.

In the third, Brentwood began with a 9-4 run to up their lead to 44-37 and extended that to 48-37 with five to play before closing out the quarter with a 56-46 lead.

The Panthers would stay close in the fourth, closing the gap to 56-50 with just over six minutes to play, but a 15-7 run, including the final eight points of the game, by Brentwood, gave them enough cushion to hold off the Panthers and earn the hard fought 71-57 win.

Parkland’s Dylan Reid would score 14 first half points and 17 total to keep Parkland close to Brentwood early on (Photo: Christian J. Stewart / ISN)

For Brentwood, Schultz finished with 33 points to lead all scorers, while Joe Small added 10 and Ozgur Tarim chipped in 11.

For Parkland, Godwin Polares led the way with 19 points, while Reid finished with 19 in the losing effort.

The double knockout tournament continues Friday with Highland playing Parkland at 2:15 pm and Kwalikum facing Pacific Christian at 4:00 pm. The winners of those games will continue on in the tournament and have a chance to play for the third Provincial berth from the Island. The losers will be eliminated.

The semis then begin at 5:45 with SMUS taking on Shawnigan, while Lambrick and Brentwood College meet in the second semi at 7:30 pm. The winners will go to the final, as well as both qualify for Provincials, while the losers will also have a chance to play for that third Provincial berth.

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